esp-matter/examples/camera/README.md

Matter Camera

This example demonstrates Matter camera using a two-chip split architecture, where signaling and media streaming are separated across two processors for optimal power efficiency.

Architecture Overview

The split mode consists of two separate firmware images:

1. matter_camera (ESP32-C6)

• Role: Matter camera with WebRTC signaling integration
• Responsibilities:
  • Matter stack execution
  • WebRTC signaling
  • Bridge communication with media_adapter
  • Always-on connectivity for instant responsiveness

2. media_adapter (ESP32-P4)

• Role: Media streaming device
• Implementation: Uses the streaming_only example from ${KVS_SDK_PATH}/esp_port/examples/streaming_only
• Responsibilities:
  • Video/audio capture and encoding
  • WebRTC media streaming
  • Power-optimized operation (sleeps when not streaming)
  • Receives signaling commands via bridge from matter_camera

System Architecture

┌─────────────────┐      SDIO Bridge     ┌─────────────────┐
│    ESP32-C6     │◄────────────────────►│    ESP32-P4     │
│ (matter_camera) │      Communication   │ (media_adapter) │
│                 │                      │                 │
│ ┌─────────────┐ │                      │ ┌─────────────┐ │
│ │             │ │                      │ │ H.264       │ │
│ │   Matter    │ │                      │ │ Encoder     │ │
│ │             │ │                      │ │             │ │
│ │  Signaling  │ │                      │ │ Camera      │ │
│ │             │ │                      │ │ Interface   │ │
│ └─────────────┘ │                      │ └─────────────┘ │
└─────────────────┘                      └─────────────────┘
        ▲                                        ▲
        │                                        │
        ▼                                        ▼
   (Signaling)                              Video/Audio
                                             Hardware

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• ESP32-P4 Function EV Board
• ESP-IDF v5.5.1
• Amazon Kinesis Video Streams WebRTC SDK repository

Important: This requires flashing two separate firmwares on ESP32-C6 and ESP32-P4 of ESP32-P4 Function EV Board

Setup Camera example (ESP32-C6)

See the docs to setup esp-idf and esp-matter

Build and flash

cd esp-matter/examples/camera
idf.py set-target esp32c6
idf.py build
idf.py -p [PORT] flash monitor

NOTE:

• ESP32-C6 does not have an onboard UART port. You will need to use ESP-Prog board or any other JTAG.
• Use following Pin Connections:

ESP32-C6 (J2/Prog-C6)	ESP-Prog
IO0	IO9
TX0	TXD0
RX0	RXD0
EN	EN
GND	GND

Setup Media adapter (ESP32-P4)

Clone and setup the WebRTC SDK

git clone https://github.com/awslabs/amazon-kinesis-video-streams-webrtc-sdk-c.git
git checkout beta-reference-esp-port
git submodule update --init --depth 1
export KVS_SDK_PATH=/path/to/amazon-kinesis-video-streams-webrtc-sdk-c

Build and flash

cd ${KVS_SDK_PATH}/esp_port/examples/streaming_only
idf.py set-target esp32p4
idf.py menuconfig
# Go to Component config -> ESP System Settings -> Channel for console output
# (X) USB Serial/JTAG Controller # For ESP32-P4 Function_EV_Board V1.2 OR V1.5
# (X) Default: UART0 # For ESP32-P4 Function_EV_Board V1.4
idf.py build
idf.py -p [PORT] flash monitor

Note: If the console selection is wrong, you will only see the initial bootloader logs. Please change the console as instructed above and reflash the app to see the complete logs.

Note: Currently, due to flash size limitations of ESP32-C6 onboard the ESP32-P4 Function EV Board, the ota_1 partition (see partitions.csv) is disabled and the size of the ota_0 partition is increased. This prevents the firmware from performing OTA updates. Hence, this configuration is not recommended for production use.

Testing

You can use any Matter based camera controller app to view the video feed. Alternatively, you can also use the camera controller example from the connnectedhomeip repository.